Rob the Photog (Rob Gingerich) is a former TV news photographer (and current TV production manager) who loves macro photography. He also says he has a fondness for things covered in dust, rust, cobwebs, etc and that the older he gets, the more he becomes interested in old things.
The conference will explores visions of a sustainable future for Michigan, from the critical challenges facing our economy to strategies for developing a stable, enduring economic, energy and environmental future. It features forty speakers providing high-powered, cutting-edge presentations including Robert Costanza, Albert Bates, Thomas Greco, Richard Douthwaite, Patrick Moore, Harvey Wasserman, Richard Gilbert, Soji Adelaja, Joe Welch, and Dan Scripps.
Last year Absolute Michigan talked with Crystal Mountain GM Jim MacInnes about the last year's conference and you can watch it right here:
Photo Credit
The photos in the video are from the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr. If you mouse over them you can see title and photographer's name and you can click to see more great work from them.
In his essay Threatening Agriculture, Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenberry says that it looks as if Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm will veto funding for agricultural extension programs after witholding the October payment for extension. He quotes dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University Jeffrey Armstrong as saying this would be devastating to Michigan's second largest industry in a variety of ways including the loss of millions more in federal matching funds.
“The Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station system and MSU extension are providing the research, development, and education for Michigan’s emerging green economy,” Armstrong said.
If that funding is eliminated, or even if it is withheld, he says it would “destroy our ability to build the one economic sector in which Michigan has an advantage,” he says.
What that would mean is that MSU would have to shut down its 83 extension offices -- one per county - plus 15 agricultural and biological research stations and some other programs.
Jack notes that we're not just talking 4H here - we're talking after school programs in inner cities and a wide range of health and education issues that touch all aspects of our lives in Michigan.
I'll switch to italics to editorialize: This is about the most senseless thing I've ever heard of. Michigan is defined by what we grow and right now it seems like we're growing stupidity.
Michigan State University researchers are developing aquatic robots that mimic fish movement to allow low cost and omni-present monitoring of harmful algal blooms in fresh water eco-systems. We at Absolute Michigan would like to welcome our robotic piscine overlords and invite you to watch this video!
The Detroit Pistons kick off the 2008 season TONIGHT (Oct 30) at the Palace vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder. You can get upper level tickets for just $15 and $5 of that goes to breast cancer research at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.
You can also download Detroit Pistons pumpkin stencils of - can you believe how dramatically changed the 2009-2010 Detroit Pistons are?? - Arron Afflalo, Chauncey Billups, Michael Curry, Richard Hamilton, Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell, Antonio McDyess, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey, Rasheed Wallace and Hooper. Then carve one and send the photo of it to Pistons.com for their Pistons Pumpkin photo gallery.
The Ford Mustang was introduced 45 years ago, and in The Mustang Takes the US by Storm: Michigan Radio Remembers, Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenberry and Charity Nebbe explore the shot in the arm that the Mustang delivered to Ford - and our national psyche. They also ask if it's possible that another single car model could have a similar effect today.
Lost children are a recurring theme in ghost sightings. Almost everyone feels a tug to the old heartstrings at the implied death of a child, making these one of the most poignant type of paranormal reports.
A writer from Greenville sent me one of the most detailed such stories that I've received. He lived with his family in a house built in the 1920s that was rumored to once have housed two children who were later lost in the adjacent woods.
The writer was about ten or eleven at the time and was walking up the stairs at night when he saw a little boy wearing an "odd-shaped" hat. The boy, who seemed to be about six years old, was looking at him from behind a low partition between the kitchen and living room, and backed farther behind it to remove himself from view. The writer moved higher on the stairs to get a better look and the ghostly little figure crept behind the living room sofa and disappeared from view.
The sightings continued. The little boy appeared again behind the sofa, playing checkers with a little girl ghost who seemed a year or two younger. The writer had recently received the game of giant checkers for Christmas. He said both children appeared well-dressed, but in rather out-of-style clothing. The writer says he saw the children many other times over the two years the family lived there, and has always wondered if the story about the lost brother and sister was true.
The man says he is in his 30s now but has never forgotten the two little ghosts of Greenville and has told the story many times. It would be interesting to know whether anyone in that town has seen the same little children at play.
The almost completely revamped Detroit Pistons open the 2009-2010 season tomorrow night at Memphis (who will possibly be sporting their brand new Allan Iverson). On the subject of the dramatically changed Pistons including the not-so-dearly departed AI, Natalie at Need4Sheed (repping the D regardless of where Sheed is now) had a great Detroit Pistons 2009-2010 Season Preview:
Key Losses: Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace, Amir Johnson, Arron Afflalo, Chauncey Billups (does that still count) (I say "YES"), head coach Michael Curry (a good loss) and possibly the best loss in Pistons history, the end of Allen Iverson in red, white and blue.
Key Additions: Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Chris Wilcox, Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko and Ben Wallace.
"One thing is sure, they may not be slotted to make the ECF like they used to, but this Pistons team is going to be fun to watch."
“(Fans) couldn’t see all the things he did from a positive standpoint,” Kuester said. “He has been a great role model for our young point guards. He’s really done an outstanding job of running the team in practice. He’s challenged both (Stuckey and Bynum) every day in practice and I’m very impressed with what he did on the court and off the court.
“It’s huge, for me being a first-year coach and having people I can trust in the locker room. That’s where Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince (are important) and I’ve talked about Ben being such a good influence on our bigs. Chucky has to fit into that category also. I’ve been very impressed with what he’s done so far.”
Speaking of the official Pistons web site, they've added a new Detroit Pistons Twitpic feature to their Twitter that offers some interesting glimpses behind the scenes.
Keep up with Pistons news & links all season long at absolutemichigan.com/Pistons and we'll see you out with the first of a three part series "Pistons Recharged" (thanks Detroit Bad Boys for the find and here's part two and part three)
Jeff Westover put together this great montage of photographs from the greater Irish Hills area with the music of The Buzzrats from Ann Arbor to start off Halloween week on Absolute Michigan. (Buzzrats on MySpace)
The last Wednesday of every month is a 
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